Beehive frame rest



Feb. 24, 1942. E. c. H. OLSON BEEHIVE FRAME REST Filed Dec. 21, 1939 U Q Ma E m E Patented Feb. 24, 1942 015px; ares Corners, *Wisi; assignorto' ewlscompany,=-Watertown, Wis., a corl fe m r 21, iss'agse mmo. 310,2 9

a 6 claims: (CL'QiLg):

This invention relates to beehives and refers;

particularly to therimannerw in which the-combframes arexSupported*-therein,-,i p I p The construction of beehivesis more or lessstandardized and'generally comprisesa -box-like--. 5

enclosure "with *a removable {COYGIK and with .two' opposite walls usually-;the-en i Walls,-equipped with frame supports; These 'framesupports are adapted to have the projecting endsofethetcomb frames rest thereon. I i p p The construction ofthesecomb frame supports is quite: important; Therframes must: be :so sup: ported that the properpclearancej'is -at allrtimesz maintained between-the walls .ofithelhiveand the": ends ofthe frame andalsonbetweenthewtop fofthe-1 5 frame: and the; removableclcoverzz'ofnthe -hiyeaora the superimposed "frame-git 'supersrare'nsedn The bee space aboveiathe frame; 1 that; is, be-.- tween the frame and :the zundersnrfiacen of r the; cover or superimposed frame isiofyconsiderabler: importance. Obviouslygit-must notibe'too small; and if 'it is too large, the'rbeesa'zwill*zfilliitvwith comb. If thisoccursg -it'jistalmostuimpossiblerito.:-- remove the frame and if E removalaiseffeoted;:the1

comb is broken and theLhon-eyl runs: allover..the::-

bees. i

Another very important; consideration"; in their design of frame supports is thatthey :must ,be so designed that-the beescannot readily. "glue-or stick the frames to the support'with:propoliszf 3Q It'has been found that thebees dojnotreadily propolizethe frames to. thensupporti if".;the1scon'-.w tact ismetal to wood rather than wood on Woodir:

It has also-been found:thatzrestriction sof the;

area of contact furtherreduces thepossibilityiiofxa propolizing the frames to the supports.

Consequently, the frame supportsyas illustrated": in Patent No. 1,782,202, -issued1 to-'JG'.:G. iFr'at'er; 7 November 18,1930; havebeen formed entirely of metal and so proportioned "as toipresentaai narrow supporting surface to the-projecting framesends; The structure shown-in this --patent wasthe nearest approach "to the' optimumfcon'struction heretofore available; butthis past 'constructionhas several every, serious disadvantages'and y it lacks the strengthto' withstand the rough hanunable to withstand the jolting inevitable in the handling of hives as beekeeping is now practiced. 55

These upstanding: flanges, :uponwhich" the frames rested,- i wouldbecome bent and; deformed. curacy of spacing was; thus 105131 q H;

Attempts. were made to overcomethe difficulty by usingwheavier gauge imetaly but: experience proved this =to-be unsatisfactory.

The-presentmethods; of beekeepingzlinown asQ migratory beekeeping are. .largelygresponsible for;

discovering' thedefects of 'th'ESG'EPQSt construc-' tions; for in migratory beekeeping, the hives-are;

hauled by a-itruckfrom one location to another to takei-advantagefiof:honey flows.

Also; in recent ayears, zpmany beekeepers have y begun hauling the bees from i the north: .to the south and back again to folloWthe-seasons;

Thus, it will be clear that the jolting and jare ring: of this repeated handling and transporting places a severe? straintonthe frame: supports.x

- the .frame. supports whereby adequate strength is obtained-without :sacrificingstheudesirable edgelikelconstruction; :1 I a With the above and other objects in viewiwhich will'iappeanxas; theiidescription :proceeds; :this-.:i1r-

vention fresides in the n'ovel, constructionyzcome.

as hereinafter *describedrfand more i particularly binationiand arrangement 'of parts substantially i defined-by the appendedclaims; it bmg-yunqer- 1 stood that suchchanges-in the precise embodi ment of the hereindisclosed invention may 1 be 5 made as, come within'the-scopeof' the' 'clalrns.-- V

The accompanying; drawing illustrates one" complete example of the physical embodi'mento'f;

the. invention constructed ins-accordance withthe' bestmode sofardevi'sed for the" practical 'app'lia cation of .the principles thereoiiandin which'ii Figure l is a perspective view of. a beehive con-i structed in accordance with this invention; 7

Figure 2 is anwenlarged'vertical sectional view throughithechiveetakempnz:the plane of the' line 24-2 timFigure il; andi'zz L Figure- .3 is: ,a rzfragmentary detail aperspective 2 Viewillustrating: theaspecific construction of. the 1 frame supports.

tween the comb frames and the inner walls of I the hive. Endwise spacing of the frames is accomplished by the particular construction of the frames per se;

Vertical spacing, that is, the relationship of the frames to the bottom and top of the hive, and particularly the top, depends entirely upon the accuracy of the frame supports I2; and inasmuch as hives are now subjected to rather rough handling, special consideration must be given to the construction of these frame supports to insure the maintenance of this proper spacing.

It is also essential that the frame supports be so designed that the bees cannot readily propolize the frames to the supports. This latter requirement is met by forming the frame supports of metal while the former requirement is satisfied by the particular construction of the supports.

To this end, the frame supports are formed by rabbeting the inner upper edges of the end walls 8, as at I3. These rabbets have a re-entrant formation which defines inclined ledges M, the

front edges of which are higher than the rear edges.

A shallow groove 15 is also cut into the front face of each ledge to a depth equal to the thickness of a metal angle strip I6 secured to each ledge. These angle strips form an acute angle in cross section corresponding to the shape of the cross section of the ledges and fit the same with their front flanges engaging in the grooves l5 so that their front faces lie substantially flush with the inner surfaces of the end walls 8.

The apexes of the angle strips present edgelike supports upon which the frame ends rest; and inasmuch as the angle strips are supported throughout their entirety by direct contact with the wooden ledges, they have adequate strength to withstand the jostling and jarring to which the hives may be subjected.

The edge-like formation and the fact that the actual support for the frames is of metal also minimizes the possibility of the bees propolizing the frames to the supports.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be readily apparent that this invention provides a substantial improvement in the construction of beehives. I

What I claim as my invention is: v

1. In a beehive including two opposed walls: frame supports carried by said walls and adapted to have the ends of comb frames supported thereon, said frame supports comprising ledges inclined obliquely downward from the inner faces of said walls; and correspondingly shaped metal angle strips extending upward along said inner faces and covering said ledges to provide substantially sharp edges upon which the frame ends rest.

2. In a beehive: a box-like enclosure including two opposed walls; frame supports carried by said walls, each of said frame supports comprising a ledge intersecting the inner face of the wall at an acute angle and lying wholly between the planes of the inner and outer surfaces of the wall; and correspondingly shaped metal angle strips covering said ledge and extending a short distance downward along said inner face to present a substantially sharp edge upon which the frame ends are adapted to rest.

3. In a beehive: a substantially box-like enclosure including opposed walls, each of which has a re-entrant rabbet at its upper inner edge forming a ledge sloping from the inner surface of the wall downwardly toward the outer surface of said wall and a metal angle strip sloping downward from said inner edge toward said outer surface, and extending vertically downward a short distance along the inner surface of the corresponding wall, thereby covering said ledge to provide a substantially sharp edge-like support upon which an adjacent frame end may rest.

4. In a beehive: two opposed wooden walls, each having its upper inner edge rabbeted to provide a ledge, said rabbets having a re-entrant formation, causing the plane of said ledge to form an acute angle with the plane of the inner surface of the corresponding wall with the front edge of said ledge higher than the rear edge; and a metal angle strip of corresponding shape covering said ledge and presenting a substantially sharp edge-like support upon which the ends of frames may rest.

5. In a beehive: two opposed wooden walls having their upper inner edges rabbeted, said rabbets being of a re-entrant shape so as to define flat ledges with the front edge thereof high- 4 er than the rear edge and the front face of each ledge having a shallow groove; and a metal angle strip covering each of said ledges, each angle strip forming an acute angle in cross section corresponding to the angle of intersection of the ledges and a plane parallel to the inner surface of the corresponding wall, and having a metal thickness substantially equal to the depth of the groove in the front fac of the corresponding ledge and having its vertical flange received in said groove so that the front face of the angle strips lie flush with the adjacent inner faces of said walls, said angle strips providing strong edge-like frame supports.

6. In a beehive adapted to hold a plurality of comb frames: frame supports upon which the frames rest, said frame supports comprising solid shelves sloping downwardly from the inner surfaces of two opposed walls of the hive; and a thin sheet metal covering over said shelves and extending downwardly along said inner surfaces.

' ERIC C. H. OLSON. 

